According to the post by former presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad, on his verified X account on Monday November 20, 2025, reacted as Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia, a Catholic priest before entering politics, categorically rejected allegations of religious, ethnic, or any form of genocide in his state during a consultative forum on the protection of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDPs).
The event was organized by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Abuja on November 19, 2025. Speaking in his dual capacity as a reverend father and chief security officer of Benue, Alia addressed persistent international narratives framing the state’s security issues as targeted religious persecution.Alia explicitly stated that no jihad is occurring in Nigeria, emphasizing his unique position to identify and denounce such activity.
“We do not have any jihad in Nigeria,” he declared, adding, “I’m speaking to you as a reverend father in the church. I’m speaking to you as a governor of a state. If there were any, particularly in my state or any part of Nigeria, I would have been the very number one person to make a noise.” He further clarified that groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) operate primarily in the North-East with declared extremist objectives, but their activities do not extend to or characterize the situation in Benue.
The governor acknowledged significant insecurity in Benue, including farmer-herder conflicts and attacks by armed groups that have persisted since 2009, resulting in over 800 fatalities and nearly 400 kidnappings in the past two years according to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED).
However, he stressed that these incidents affect communities across religious and ethnic lines without discrimination and do not meet the United Nations definition of genocide, which requires intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.
Alia’s remarks directly countered claims amplified in international circles, including reports cited by United States officials that have contributed to Nigeria’s past designation as a Country of Particular Concern for alleged violations of religious freedom. A BBC investigation previously found that some data used to support assertions of Christian genocide in Nigeria could not be independently verified.
The governor noted that violence in Nigeria stems from factors such as weak governance, resource competition, and banditry rather than systematic religious targeting.To address these concerns proactively, Alia disclosed that he had engaged directly with the United States ambassador in Nigeria to explain the true nature of Benue’s security challenges.
By rejecting the genocide and jihad labels while calling for accurate representation of the situation, the governor sought to correct misconceptions that have influenced foreign policy discussions and threats of intervention, reaffirming that the state’s issues, though severe, remain matters of general criminality and communal tensions requiring domestic and coordinated security responses. View, More,
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